Quote:
Originally Posted by Runscott
Great job Bill, but no way is Belanger a HOF'er. Hitting is an integral part of the game, and he failed miserably in that area.
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I think both hitting and fielding are integral parts of the game, and if players can make the Hall of Fame for their hitting prowess alone, why can there not be players who make it for their fielding alone? The Hall exists to recognize, supposedly, the very greatest players in baseball history. There is compelling evidence to back up the assertion that Mark Belanger was the greatest defensive shortstop to ever play the game, or at the very least, on equal footing with the very best to ever play the position.
A hitter can be completely taken out of a game. A hitter gets 3 to 4, maybe 5 at bats in a game depending on how the game is progressing. If a pitcher doesn't want to face a hitter, they can simply intentionally walk them. They could conceivably do this each time the hitter came to the plate. It's far fetched, but not impossible. But a fielder, especially a great one, can negate much of the opposing team's offense, and they cannot be taken out of the game the way a hitter can.
If a right handed pitcher is facing a predominantly right handed lineup, the majority of batted balls should be to their pull side, the third base side. The shortstop and third baseman would work in symphony to silence much of that offense. Sharp grounders, well hit line drives become outs to a higher degree. Suddenly hitters are trying to put more loft into their swings, and in doing so, are having to slightly alter their approach at the plate. Belanger was a guy that with his range, and having Brooks Robinson to his right, could eliminate much of the opposing team's offense.
Ted Williams had a career WAR of 123.1 His oWAR was 126.3. His dWAR was -13.3. Clearly, he is a Hall of Famer because of his bat. It's been written that when Carl Yastrzemski came up for the Red Sox, the team immediately got better. He provided comparable offense, and vastly improved the defense.
Frank Thomas was just elected to Cooperstown as one of the great Chicago White Sox of all-time. His career WAR? 73.7. His oWAR was 79.8. His dWAR was -23.4. Thomas played 2,322 games in total, of which 1,310 were as a designated hitter. He played 971 games at first base, and had a dWAR of -23.4. His offense was the only thing that kept him in the Majors as over 56% of the games he played he was a hitter only. He never took to the field with a glove. His offense is clearly the only reason he's in the Hall of Fame. Defense, which is half the game, was a non factor with Frank Thomas.
Were Williams or Thomas as bad defensively as Mark Belanger was offensively? Probably not, because as I've shown, for the men in the modern era that managed to compile 5,000 or more at bats, Belanger had the lowest OPS of all. But it's clear that these two men were below average defensively. Only baseball, American League baseball, allows you to hide one poor defender with the designated hitter. Fielders did not get that luxury.
Ozzie Smith made it to the Hall of Fame, and he was pretty much a non factor offensively. Belanger had a .580 OPS. Smith's was .666. Yes, that's 86 points higher, which is statistically relevant. But Ozzie Smith didn't play through a dead ball era (in fact, the later part of his career took place in an era with increased offensive numbers). Belanger did. The first eight years of Belanger's career took place during what is called the second Dead Ball Era in baseball. This took place
between 1964 and 1972. People familiar with baseball history will remember this period where pitchers clearly dominated the game, especially in the American League. This is the era during which Denny McClain won 30 games in a season. This is the era during which the aforementioned Carl Yastrzemski won the 1968 American League Batting Title with a .301 average. Yastrzemski was the only American Leaguer to hit .300 that year. In fact, only one other hitter in the AL managed to even hit .290, Oakland's Danny Carter, who hit .290 on the dot for second best behind Yaz. Belanger's play at shortstop was a contributing factor towards lower scoring in the American League.
Defense matters. And the great defenders in the game's history should receive the same level of recognition that the great hitters have gotten since Cooperstown opened her doors to Ruth, Wagner and Cobb.